Be Still My Heart
by Xedra
Summary: Harry casts a spell to call his soulmate. Harry/Draco. Post-Hogwarts
1. Stillness

Disclaimer: Characters belong to JK Rowling. Just having fun.

Feedback: Comments are very welcome. I haven't written for HP in a long time, so please be kind.

Be Still My Heart

by Xedra

Harry stood in the wooded clearing, in the stillness that comes only at midnight, and drew his wand.

With a sweep of his arm and a murmured incantation, a flat circle of polished obsidian three feet in diameter shimmered into existence. The full moon directly above glowed in its reflection, perfectly centered.

He drew off his robe and dropped it behind him and the rest of his clothing soon followed. His movements were sure and steady, having performed this ritual twice before. If he did not get an answer this time, he would try again on the next full moon. And the one after that. And the one after that.

He would send out his Calling until he was answered, no matter how long it took.

He put the tip of his wand to his ribs, over his heart. "Cordis Sanguis."

Harry pulled his wand slowly away from him and sucked in a deep breath at the strange, fluttery lurch his heart gave as a drop of blood was taken directly from it and appeared at the tip of the wand. He held the wand over the obsidian disk and the blood dropped onto the reflected moon.

"Cordis Voca"

The blood seeped into the stone, turning the reflected moon bright red. After a moment, the red faded back to white and the image of the moon began to expand until it filled the surface of the stone.

Harry dropped his wand behind him on top of the pile of clothes and stepped onto the disk. The power of the spell vibrated under his feet. The vibrations traveled up to his ankles and legs, over his buttocks and groin, through his chest and arms, up his neck and out the top of his head. Over and over the vibrations pulsed, like a heartbeat.

The spell was ancient. It took him over a year to find and while it was rooted in Dark Magic, there was no evil in it. Dark Magic, he learned, was a primal kind of magic that tapped into a human's basic emotions, urges, and needs. It was often used for malicious deeds, but was also well suited for the spell Harry used on this night.

The Calling Spell used his own heart's blood and the power of the full moon to seek and find his soulmate. The soul that complemented his own would hear the Call and be urged to answer, to seek out its mate, to find Harry from wherever in the world they may be. There was no guarantee, however. While the spell may be incredibly strong, it could be resisted, ignored, or even rejected if the one it found chose to. Twice already Harry had received no answer, but he was nothing if not persistent.

He stood on the stone disk and allowed the spell to pulse through him, Calling. Every beat of his heart Calling. The very depths of his soul Calling.

*CLANG*

The sudden toll of a bell sounded, not through the air, but through his body, shaking him to his core and dropping him hard to his knees. The moon's glow was gone from the stone, its surface now clouded and rough. Harry got to his feet, his heart pounding. The magic had been spent, and this time there was an answer.

Across the clearing, a figure robed in black stood among the trees, wand in hand.

Draco.

His pale face and hair practically glowed in the dark of the wood, lit by the moon high above. His eyes were guarded, his expression closed.

The surprise and confusion of seeing Draco Malfoy standing there was quickly overcome by a sudden sense of knowing. Oh, there you are.

Harry stepped off the stone toward Draco, made no move for his wand or his clothes. He stood there, naked in the moonlight, and waited.

Draco's eyes swept over Harry's body, but did not linger. He closed his eyes briefly and nodded to himself, then took a step forward. He quickly removed his own clothing and placed his wand on top of them. The grass was soft under his bare feet as he crossed over to Harry, stopping only an arm-length away.

"I heard your Call. I'm here."

The history between them, the years of animosity, it all shifted firmly and finally into the past. They could start over. They could start now. Harry accepted this with a profound sense of relief. He held out his hand.

"Hello, Draco."

Draco looked down at Harry's hand and recognized the gesture for what it was - a reversal of their first meeting, an invitation to begin something new. He had tried to ignore the Call that had pulled at him for so long, but now standing in front of the one person in his life he could never ignore, he could only feel immense satisfaction at the outcome.

He took Harry's hand and smiled.

"Hello, Harry."

Author Note:

"Cordis Sanguis" - Heart Blood  
"Cordis Voca" - Heart Call  
Literal translations in Latin of the specific words. I don't know how Latin works, so I just put the words together. *shrug*


	2. Memory

Chapter 2

They stood in the moonlight, hands clasped between them, and the significance of what had happened seemed to wash over them.

A moment that could have been filled with awkwardness was met instead with calmness, quick grins, and curious eyes. Their eyes roamed over each other with intention.

Harry took in Draco's pale hair, bright eyes and sharp chin. The urge to nip that arrogant chin zinged through him and caught his breath.

Draco's eyes wandered from the messy black hair, the scar, and the glasses he was already familiar with and zeroed in on Harry's mouth. That mouth he definitely wanted to know better, how it felt against his own, how it tasted. The sudden tight grip of Harry's hand on his distracted him and he looked up.

Harry's face was tight with emotion, his jaw clenched. Draco knew why from the way Harry stared at his chest.

Though they had healed long ago and had mostly faded, the moonlight turned the scars on his chest to silver, made them stand out even against his pale skin. To Harry's mind they seemed to glow, and the memory of having slashed Draco with that curse burned him with shame even now.

Draco was having none of that. He stepped forward and used his free hand to grab Harry's wrist and place that hand on the scar that ran through the middle of his chest. It had been the deepest and last to fully heal. The warmth of Harry's palm on his skin made him shudder, but he pushed that aside for now.

"Don't, Harry. That was a long time ago. We were kids, stupid kids."

Harry closed his eyes and hung his head; he could feel the raised skin of the scar beneath his hand. He wished so hard that he could undo it, or somehow take them away from Draco and carry them in his own skin. He pressed his hand hard against Draco's chest.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, agonized.

"And I forgive you, "Draco said simply.

Harry looked up and saw the truth of it in Draco's eyes and could've sagged to the ground with the relief he felt. His eyes misted, but he smiled at Draco with gratitude and a lightened heart.

Draco figured that was enough of that and wanted to move on to more interesting things. He brought Harry's hand away from his chest and up to his mouth, kissing the fingertips, the palm, the wrist. He glanced up at Harry and traced the tip of his tongue back the same way and raised an eyebrow.

From the way Harry's eye filled with heat and his breath quickened, Draco knew he was ready to move on, as well.


	3. Magic

Chapter 3

Cool night air whispered through the trees in the clearing, causing both men to shiver and press against each other for warmth.

Harry sucked in a deep breath at the feel of Draco's long, sleek body against his and curled an arm around his waist to hold him there. Draco closed his eyes and touched his forehead to Harry's, savoring the feeling.

With his free hand, Draco opened his palm and wordlessly cast a warming spell that quickly spread through the clearing. Harry leaned back and grinned, impressed by that handy bit of magic. Draco raised a smug eyebrow in return.

A wave of delight sparkled inside Harry and he gripped Draco tighter as he surged forward to kiss him. Draco froze for only half a moment before wrapping his arms fully around Harry and holding him close, taking his mouth in a deep, luscious kiss that pulled a growling moan from the back of Harry's throat.

Harry's arms curled up and grasped at Draco's shoulders as he swept his tongue alongside Draco's. Arousal hit them both hard and fast. Harry pulled his arms away and took Draco's face in his hands, plundering hungrily at Draco's mouth while Draco wrapped his own hands around Harry's wrists and held on, glorying in the force of Harry's desire and matching it with his own desperate attack.

The need for air finally broke them apart and they stood there clutching each other, panting and shaking together under the light of the moon. Heart pounding, Harry pulled back to look at Draco and was stunned to see the naked longing in those silver eyes and he moved swiftly to answer it, taking his mouth again, but this time gently.

Their mouths brushed softly, taking sweet sipping kisses from each other as their hands stroked the skin they had gripped only moments before. Their bodies remained fiercely aroused and the ache of it bit at them both, but there was also a tenderness between them now that was just as strong and infinitely more binding.

Only one thing could bind them even closer and from the way their hips began to push and roll against each other, that was something they were both ready to do.


End file.
